


Among Friends

by classicalreader313



Series: Long Walk Week 2020 [3]
Category: The Long Walk - Richard Bachman
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Introspection, Mentions of Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23974015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classicalreader313/pseuds/classicalreader313
Summary: "He knew that now Parker and Abraham were more to him than they really were. He thought they were the best friends he’d ever had, but now his life before the Walk and all his previous friends were a blur, so he guessed that didn’t mean much. Right now, they represented companionship, and an escape from the monotony of picking them up and putting them down, and that meant everything to Baker."About the friendship between Baker, Abraham, and Parker.
Relationships: Abraham & Collie Parker, Art Baker & Abraham, Art Baker & Abraham & Collie Parker, Art Baker & Collie Parker
Series: Long Walk Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726735
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: Long Walk Week 2020





	Among Friends

The Long Walk wasn’t easy, but this part always was. 

Walking with Abraham and Parker, shooting the shit and laughing. These were the bright moments, the ones that helped Baker forget about the pain in his feet and the dull ache in his legs, his back, and his neck. He felt like he’d known them for years, which he knew was strange, but the Walk accelerated everything. On the Walk, there was nothing to do but think, and talk- anything to distract from the sharp pain that shot up their legs every time they took a step.

Baker thought back when Dom L’Antio gave them watermelons, pink peppermint grins flying through the air as the man was hauled away by state troopers. Abraham reached up, blocking the sun from his eyes with his hands, and caught a wedge of watermelon as it pinwheeled overhead.

“I love everybody!” Abraham bellowed, his face streaked with the pink juice. He broke his piece in half and gave part to Baker. Baker dove into it immediately. The juice was sweet, and dribbled down his chin. He spat out the black seeds. It brought him back to June afternoons back at home, sitting out on the porch and eating watermelon from the patch out back. Through the screen, he’d watch his brothers and sisters playing in the yard. There were watermelon wedges waiting in a bowl of ice for when they were done, but now they were content to run around and play, and Baker was content to watch them. His Aunt Hattie was out on the porch too, rocking, rocking, rocking in her chair, but not even she could ruin this, these golden days of summer, Baker’s happiest memories of before.

That same joy was building within him as he walked beside Abraham, both of them eating the watermelon and savoring that cold, sweet juice. Baker was filled with the endless possibilities of summer. For a moment, he felt like a carefree kid, feasting on watermelon with his friends, and not at all like someone on a march to his death.

Up ahead, he saw Parker break a piece off his wedge and pass it to Garraty, who passed a piece to McVries. Baker’s giddiness was bigger than his body, and he started laughing. Abraham looked at him and laughed too.

They all had gotten some watermelon. All  _ his  _ people. Abraham, Parker, Garraty, McVries. That had been a good moment. Something you saved in your head all your life like a Polaroid picture, faded from age but time could never change the smiles, the happiness, the laughter.

That felt like ages ago, but it was at most only a day. The Walk had warped Baker’s sense of time. The minutes stretched on like ages, and all he could do to occupy his mind was talk with the others or think.

He’d thought a lot about home, and why the hell he ever signed up to do this. He couldn’t figure out an answer to that question. He knew he had a reason, and he knew that he felt he  _ needed  _ to do this, but he couldn’t figure out the  _ why.  _ Baker knew it didn’t matter much at this point. There were a lot of things that didn’t matter at this point.

He felt trapped inside his head. His thoughts just kept swirling around and around and around. He thought of home, and his Aunt Hattie, and big graveyard rats, and his brother. His brother’s body in a mausoleum, a pine coffin, one of those rats nibbling through the side-

He jolted out of his half-dream state and shivered. The sun was going down and the road was cast in shadow. It had been so hot that day- the temperature hovered around eighty degrees- but now that the sun was setting, chill settled in. Parker was right- this state had fucked up weather.

Up ahead, he could see Parker and Abraham. He picked up the pace to walk near to them before dozing off again. He could hear them talking, though they sounded so distant now.

Baker tried to fit Parker and Abraham into his hometown, into his school. Abraham would be the guy who always goofed off in class, and everyone would laugh and the teachers would hate him, but he’d still somehow be cool and above it all.

Collie Parker would hang out after school and beat up kids leaving from band practice. He’d stand out by the gas station and smoke cigarettes and pick fights. Maybe he’d even pick on Baker. Kids like that at his school had never been too fond of the mortician’s nephew.

Right now, the three of them were shuffling along in a loosely knitted group. Parker and Abraham were debating which snack food was the best while Baker walked on in a daze. Their conversation only reached him in snatches as he was lost in thought. 

“Hey, Baker,” Abraham nudged him. “What do you think?”

Baker jolted out of his dreamlike state and blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “Would you guys wanna be friends after this?”

They looked at him, confused, startled, and Baker felt his skin crawl with shame. He sounded desperate. Desperate for them to like him, to be his friend, and to care for him as much as he cared for each of them. At this point, he couldn’t imagine this Walk without them. And what did he mean  _ after _ ? There was no after for any of them. This was it.

“I mean, uh, do you think we’d be friends if we met in real life?” It hardly sounded any better, and Baker looked down, face flushed and hands stuck in his pockets. Neither of them said anything, and Baker said, “Nevermind, forget it,” and picked up speed.

“Wait,” Abraham said, in his voice that always sounded too deep for his lanky frame. “Are you okay?”

Baker gave him a look but slowed his pace to match theirs. There was no point in asking someone if they were okay on the Long Walk- none of them were. It was one of those platitudes carrying over from the real world that they were having a hard time letting go off.

“I’m as okay as any of us are,” Baker replied. It was an acceptable answer, but Abraham was still looking at him with worried eyes and a serious expression. “I’ve just been thinking about back home. I wish I knew you guys back home.” Maybe if Baker’d had friends more like Abe and Parker, he wouldn’t be in this mess. 

He didn’t know what the hell he was thinking. He knew that now Parker and Abraham were more to him than they really were. He thought they were the best friends he’d ever had, but now his life before the Walk and all his previous friends were a blur, so he guessed that didn’t mean much. Right now, they represented companionship, and an escape from the monotony of picking them up and putting them down, and that meant everything to Baker.

The three walked on in a sober, companionable silence. The halftrack trundled along beside them, and the soldiers occasionally parceled out warnings, reading off of their stainless steel chronometers. The trio walked without warnings.

“You know, I think we would be,” Abraham finally said. “Of course we would.” He grinned at Baker and Baker smiled back.

“I think we would be too.”

Parker wasn’t the sentimental type. He was brash and loud. But over the course of the Walk, the exhaustion, the pain, the malnutrition, and maybe the growing friendship among their small group had softened him. He said, “Yeah, but I’d probably beat the both of you up before I realized you’re good guys.”

Baker doubled over and laughed, both because of what Parker said and the relief that spread through him. He felt like one of the pink watermelon grins, twirling through a blue, cloudless sky. He felt lightness spread through him. 

“Wow, Collie. That was almost nice. You sure you’re feeling alright?” Abraham asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Course I’m alright. I got my redhead and my redneck. What else do I need?”

The trio erupted into laughter, and it felt good to laugh all together. To dissipate any tension and to prepare for the impending night. To armor up and tell the darkness that they weren’t afraid, that they were among friends.

The sun continued to disappear behind the pines, and they walked into the night together. 


End file.
